Need Advice - Cat Introduction

[Thisisanton]

Hi. I need some advice on my current situation. First, I've read all of the articles here and watched plenty of videos from Jackson Galaxy. Had 2 cats, but lost one last week to cancer.

We recently brought in a new cat 5 days ago. Doing the typical introduction. And as of last night my resident cat Mason (7yrs) didn't eat his dinner and breakfast today. He typically eats 2x a day. He's extremely shy and gets upset easily. And when he gets upset he hides for hours. He's not treat motivated either.

I'm thinking that he's upset about the new cat or he misses his friend that passed. But when she was gone he was acting mornal, eating and playing. Out of 10 meals since the new cat arrived Mason skipped 3. 3/10

Wednesday he ate in the morning didn't eat at night and didn't eat Thursday morning.

I'm worried that he's not eating his food or treats, any advice?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!
I'm so sorry to hear about your other furbaby's passing!

You may want to take your resident cat to the vet just to be sure it isn't health related.

 

[Thisisanton]

Hi! Welcome!!
I'm so sorry to hear about your other furbaby's passing!

You may want to take your resident cat to the vet just to be sure it isn't health related.

We called the vet this morning, he suspects the cat is really stressed out. We will bring him in tomorrow morning if he doesn't eat again today. He did eat some treats this morning, but won't eat his wet food. He's gone through a lot of changes in a span of 2 weeks. Lost his friend of 9 years, new loud cat arrives 5 days later (they haven't officially met yet), I blocked off the bed so they both can't hide under (impossible to get them out).

His stress makes me stressed. We're still missing the other cat, getting a new cat acclimated and other cruddy things happing in life. Can cats sense if humans are stressed out?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again, yes, actually they are just like little feline sponges for our emotions.

Try this, try some classical harp music, or play low volume kusc.org or the app Relax My Cat. Music really does help calm them.

You could also try some chamomile tea from the little bags only (not loose leaf), up to three cooled tablespoons a day in water or food. It'll help calm them, as well as a cuppa for you too.
Also, les26 has suggested holy basil to help with serious human stress

You may want to consider letting them have the under bed area, sometimes having a safe place to hide can make a difference as well.

 

[les26]

Try some of Jackson's remedies like "stress stopper" or some other ones that he sells, we have used them and had great results! You can put it in their food or water or just rub it on them or spray it in the room, it's worth a try!

Good luck!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Condolences on the loss of your cat. RIP sweetie. If/when you feel up to it, we have a Crossing the Bridge forum where you can post a tribute to him.

About Mason's skipping meals, it could certainly be stress from all the changes that have happened in the last 2 weeks. About picking up on your stress, I had a vet tell me that cats can be affected by their human's stress and emotions.

Since he's skipped more meals since the new cat arrived, that likely has something to do with it. He's probably confused about the new feline smell.

To entice him to eat, try giving him something stinky like tuna or sardines.

I'm glad you called your vet, as I'm sure you know, cats can't go too long without eating. Hopefully he'll eat something by tomorrow, and you won't have to stress him further with a vet visit.

You mentioned you read some articles on this site, but I'll post links to a few I think might be helpful, in case you didn't see them.

How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding?
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats
Do Cats Mourn?

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

 

[GreyLady]

I agree that you should let him hide if he wants to. Maybe slow down the process awhile, certainly wait to progress until he is eating normally, acting mostly normally. Try as much as possible to keep his routine. I heard lavishing more attention and acting different when a new cat comes contributes to the stress of the resident cat. They need it to be as normal as possible so the new cat doesn't threaten their way of life.

It also may help if you dont hover or watch to see if he eats it right away, leave it there so he can slink out and get it. This helped when my new kitten wouldn't eat the first day or two, she would eat, but on;y if I acted like I wasn't watching her.

 

[6kittymama]

I agree that you should let him hide if he wants to. Maybe slow down the process awhile, certainly wait to progress until he is eating normally, acting mostly normally. Try as much as possible to keep his routine. I heard lavishing more attention and acting different when a new cat comes contributes to the stress of the resident cat. They need it to be as normal as possible so the new cat doesn't threaten their way of life.

It also may help if you dont hover or watch to see if he eats it right away, leave it there so he can slink out and get it. This helped when my new kitten wouldn't eat the first day or two, she would eat, but on;y if I acted like I wasn't watching her.

I'm sorry you lost one of your babies we use the feliway plug ins. They really seem to help. I was getting them from my vet but they are actually much cheaper on Amazon. They might help with the transition. There is spray also available.

 

[Thisisanton]

I'm sorry you lost one of your babies we use the feliway plug ins. They really seem to help. I was getting them from my vet but they are actually much cheaper on Amazon. They might help with the transition. There is spray also available.

The diffuser arrived today, I have 2 of them plugged in. One in the den where he wlusually hangs out and the other in the living room.

 

[Thisisanton]

Hi again, yes, actually they are just like little feline sponges for our emotions.

Try this, try some classical harp music, or play low volume kusc.org or the app Relax My Cat. Music really does help calm them.

You could also try some chamomile tea from the little bags only (not loose leaf), up to three cooled tablespoons a day in water or food. It'll help calm them, as well as a cuppa for you too.
Also, les26 has suggested holy basil to help with serious human stress

You may want to consider letting them have the under bed area, sometimes having a safe place to hide can make a difference as well.

Not enough holy basil to help me at the moment.

Classical music has been playing since this afternoon. Interesting thought about the bed. It's just so hard to get them out if we needed to. And he can't be tricked with treats. There's plenty of other hiding places. But maybe the bed is his go-to place.

 

[Thisisanton]

I agree that you should let him hide if he wants to. Maybe slow down the process awhile, certainly wait to progress until he is eating normally, acting mostly normally. Try as much as possible to keep his routine. I heard lavishing more attention and acting different when a new cat comes contributes to the stress of the resident cat. They need it to be as normal as possible so the new cat doesn't threaten their way of life.

It also may help if you dont hover or watch to see if he eats it right away, leave it there so he can slink out and get it. This helped when my new kitten wouldn't eat the first day or two, she would eat, but on;y if I acted like I wasn't watching her.

Gosh, I'm doing everything you mentioned. I might need to take a step back and look at this from a different perspective.

So if he's under the bed the entire day it's ok? What if he won't come out to eat? He's an extremely shy cat to begin with. When we have guests he's always hiding. He's been doing the ever since we adopted him. He's a weird cat.

 

[Thisisanton]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Condolences on the loss of your cat. RIP sweetie. If/when you feel up to it, we have a Crossing the Bridge forum where you can post a tribute to him.

About Mason's skipping meals, it could certainly be stress from all the changes that have happened in the last 2 weeks. About picking up on your stress, I had a vet tell me that cats can be affected by their human's stress and emotions.

Since he's skipped more meals since the new cat arrived, that likely has something to do with it. He's probably confused about the new feline smell.

To entice him to eat, try giving him something stinky like tuna or sardines.

I'm glad you called your vet, as I'm sure you know, cats can't go too long without eating. Hopefully he'll eat something by tomorrow, and you won't have to stress him further with a vet visit.

You mentioned you read some articles on this site, but I'll post links to a few I think might be helpful, in case you didn't see them.

How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding?
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats
Do Cats Mourn?

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

Thanks for the articles, I missed a few of those. He's going to the vet tomorrow morning regardless if he eats or not. Just to rule out any sickness. He's acting normal, enjoyed his petting, fur brushing, and sitting with us while we watch TV. Just when we give him food he smells it, looks up and walks away. It looks like he's sulking.

We tried to entice home with chicken, friskies and no luck. He's never the one to be motivated with treats. He enjoys them but won't go out of his way to get some. It'sw weird and hesh always been like that.

About the scent swapping. He sniffs the towel it and doesn't hiss or act agressive towards it, he's even used the same litter box as the new cat. He's only seen the new cat a few times, once when it accidentally got out, 2 other times when we brought it out in a carrier to see him. Like I said he is weird, he won't investigate the room where the new cat is, not the slightest curiosity. So how can we introduce them through the baby gate? Do we keep bringing the other cat to him in a carrier?

We don't get it, he's lived with another cat for 9 years and they got along 95% other the time. He wanted to play with Ruby, but Ruby liked to play by herself. We got a cat thats sweet, friendly and out going, loves to play with hopes he would make Mason more outgoing and blossom.

It's only been 6 days with the new cat and it's already super stressful. New cat is adjusting perfectly fine.

 

[Furballsmom]

I was getting them from my vet but they are actually much cheaper on Amazon.

Hi! I just wanted to mention that unless Amazon has put something in place to deter this, there are fake third-party products being sold through Amazon and Feliway is one of the products this is happening with.
I ended up receiving a Comfort Zone product which actually worked better with my boy LOL.

it's ok? What if he won't come out to eat?

It's ok if he hides, (and it isn't weird - my boy hates people ,) but as you've mentioned, it isn't ok if he won't eat.

I would suggest to wait with further new cat introductions until you've had your baby to the vet - the more I'm reading of your comments the more I think there's a health issue going on. However, I'm possibly writing this after you've been to the vet...

After bringing him home from the vet, depending on what the vets says, you might want to continue to wait a day or so. Let the vet smell dissipate from him, and also let him decompress from the stress of the vet visit.

Once everything has settled down after a couple of days, including yourself hopefully, then you can have one cat in a room, stack two baby gates in the doorway and feed each cat on either side. If there's no particular upset behavior I would suggest to let them out with supervision, to interact in whatever way that they do.

You can only proceed at the rate of the slowest cat. If Mason is still hiding, you will simply have to let him hide, and you must stop stressing about it. He'll come around, it might be a couple of days or a couple of months but he will do it at his own pace and there's NOTHING you can do to hurry it. Forcing him to do anything will only cause things to go backwards.

I'm sending all sorts of good thoughts for the vet visit!!

 

[Thisisanton]

Hi! I just wanted to mention that unless Amazon has put something in place to deter this, there are fake third-party products being sold through Amazon and Feliway is one of the products this is happening with.
I ended up receiving a Comfort Zone product which actually worked better with my boy LOL.

It's ok if he hides, (and it isn't weird - my boy hates people ,) but as you've mentioned, it isn't ok if he won't eat.

I would suggest to wait with further new cat introductions until you've had your baby to the vet - the more I'm reading of your comments the more I think there's a health issue going on. However, I'm possibly writing this after you've been to the vet...

After bringing him home from the vet, depending on what the vets says, you might want to continue to wait a day or so. Let the vet smell dissipate from him, and also let him decompress from the stress of the vet visit.

Once everything has settled down after a couple of days, including yourself hopefully, then you can have one cat in a room, stack two baby gates in the doorway and feed each cat on either side. If there's no particular upset behavior I would suggest to let them out with supervision, to interact in whatever way that they do.

You can only proceed at the rate of the slowest cat. If Mason is still hiding, you will simply have to let him hide, and you must stop stressing about it. He'll come around, it might be a couple of days or a couple of months but he will do it at his own pace and there's NOTHING you can do to hurry it. Forcing him to do anything will only cause things to go backwards.

I'm sending all sorts of good thoughts for the vet visit!!

I did received the actual Feliway product. They're both plugged in the area where Mason hangs out.

Back from the vet and Mason was examined twice and got blood work done. Vet said he looks great, not dehydrated, and blood work came back perfect. He's 100% positive he's not eating due to stress and anxiety. So, Mason was given a pill for anxiety and another to stimulate appetite (I can't remember the names of the medication). Vet said to try to feed him around 4-5pm today. I pray he starts to eat. Vet said they've had good results with the pills.

We also need to stop the cat introduction for the time being until he's eating normally. Like you said, we'll continue once he feels ready.

My wife said he's now in a cat condo in the bedroom, came out for some petting and ate some treats. Eating treats is a good sign, he would not even touch it last night. Classical music is playing and the diffuse is in there too.

What we do for our pets. Sometime I feel like we're the pets and they're in charge.

 

[KarenKat]

What we do for our pets. Sometime I feel like we're the pets and they're in charge.

Oh yeah, I totally understand! We had a resident cat that was very upset with our new tortie. He got along fine with our second cat, but he chased New kitty Olive for a long time. It’s very very stressful, and it’s inportant to realize it is a marathon not a sprint or we drive ourselves crazy. It was 7 months until all three cats could be in the same room without chasing/hissing/tension. But it did happen. We still have scuffles, but we take those in stride.

Think of it like weight loss and less like a journey. With weight loss, ups and downs short term are normal. It’s the general trend over weeks that is the best way to judge progress. Same with cats, we were driving ourself crazy with “they did so good today” and the next day they “regressed” and were chasing again. Gohan, our resident chaser, takes a very long time to adjust to new things. We realized it didn’t matter how many “right” things we did, Only time could let him realize it was ok and he didn’t have to chase. Just take it one day at a time, and try not to get too hung up on individual events. It will work out, patience and calm!

 

[rubysmama]

Glad the vet visit went well, and that he's eaten some treats. Fingers crossed he'll eat his regular food soon. Please keep us posted.

 

[Thisisanton]

Oh yeah, I totally understand! We had a resident cat that was very upset with our new tortie. He got along fine with our second cat, but he chased New kitty Olive for a long time. It’s very very stressful, and it’s inportant to realize it is a marathon not a sprint or we drive ourselves crazy. It was 7 months until all three cats could be in the same room without chasing/hissing/tension. But it did happen. We still have scuffles, but we take those in stride.

Think of it like weight loss and less like a journey. With weight loss, ups and downs short term are normal. It’s the general trend over weeks that is the best way to judge progress. Same with cats, we were driving ourself crazy with “they did so good today” and the next day they “regressed” and were chasing again. Gohan, our resident chaser, takes a very long time to adjust to new things. We realized it didn’t matter how many “right” things we did, Only time could let him realize it was ok and he didn’t have to chase. Just take it one day at a time, and try not to get too hung up on individual events. It will work out, patience and calm!

Thanks for the advice and your story. But this situation seems to be time sensitive because he's not eating (He's perfectly healthy). If he doesn't start eating tonight/tomorrow morning we have to bring the other cat back this weekend. There seems to be no other choice. Now if he was eating and aggressive with the other can I can see taking things slowly.

 

[GreyLady]

I would be quite upset if this happened to me, hang in there!!

Its ok if your resident cat hides all day at first in my opinion. Like someone else mentioned it needs to go at the slowest cats rate. And not be forced. The idea is to reduce the stress as much as possible and make it a natural progression of comfort levels. I really really hope he decides he wants to eAT.

Have you tried canned tuna? Cats love that stuff. Your last posts look promising, glad he is ok!! After relaxing I really hope he eats, I think he will!

 

[Furballsmom]

Sometimes finger feeding can help, where you sit with him and put a little food on your finger and offer that to him, or even gently tuck a little food into his cheek.

Try making this;
tent test for dehydration and home-made pedialyte recipe - The Daily Kitten

Also, try making one of these;
Kitten Glop Recipes - Supplementing Cats and Kittens with nutritious formula you make at home: presented by Bengal Cat breeder Foothill Felines. --This website has a number of kitten glop recipes, with ingredients that you may very well have in your house.

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A shot glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese
• chamomile tea, made from the little bags only, a couple cooled teaspoons a couple times a day in water or food, can helpcalm a stressed cat

 

[KarenKat]

Thanks for the advice and your story. But this situation seems to be time sensitive because he's not eating (He's perfectly healthy). If he doesn't start eating tonight/tomorrow morning we have to bring the other cat back this weekend. There seems to be no other choice. Now if he was eating and aggressive with the other can I can see taking things slowly.

Yeah, that’s fair. The most important thing is that every cat and human is healthy!